iowas newz liter

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Asleep at the Wheel?

From The Washington Times Inside Politics column....

"Asked by a reporter about how 'President Bush today blamed the surge of violence in Iraq on al Qaeda,' incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded with a disjointed answer about how 'the 9/11 commission dismissed that notion a long time ago, and I feel sad that the president is resorting to it again,' " the Media Research Center's Brent Baker reports at www.mrc.org.

"Though al-Qaeda is clearly in Iraq and responsible for deadly bombings, and the 9/11 commission conclusion was about links before September 11, on Tuesday's 'NBC Nightly News' reporter David Gregory treated Pelosi's off-base retort as credible and relevant.

Without suggesting any miscue by her, Gregory segued to Pelosi's sound bite with a bewildering set up of his own about how incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disagreed, warning that such rhetoric about al Qaeda will make it harder for Democrats to work with the White House.

"Barnes argued the media wouldn't let a Republican get away with such a flub, telling Kondrake: 'If some Republican had done this, if Bush had done this at a press conference, if Newt Gingrich had said it, if John Boehner had said it, if Roy Blunt had said it, you'd have been all over it. It would be inexcusable.'

I can't wait to see how smooth her first 100 hours as Speaker will be.

*****UPDATE*****

The Dummycrats are already backing away from a key election promise!

Here's what the Washington Post is reporting....

It was a solemn pledge, repeated by Democratic leaders and candidates over and over: If elected to the majority in Congress, Democrats would implement all of the recommendations of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But with control of Congress now secured, Democratic leaders have decided for now against implementing the one measure that would affect them most directly: a wholesale reorganization of Congress to improve oversight and funding of the nation's intelligence agencies. Instead, Democratic leaders may create a panel to look at the issue and produce recommendations, according to congressional aides and lawmakers.

....aides on the House and Senate appropriations, armed services and intelligence committees confirmed this week that a reorganization of Congress would not be part of the package of homeland-security changes up for passage in the "first 100 hours" of the Democratic Congress.

The 9/11 Commission was unequivocal about the need.

"Of all our recommendations, strengthening congressional oversight may be among the most difficult and important," the panel wrote. "So long as oversight is governed by current congressional rules and resolutions, we believe the American people will not get the security they want and need."

Sufferin' Succotash Sylvester score another swing and a miss for Pa-LOSER!

Feast your eyes on this.

Texas is asking the Justice Department to approve Dec. 12 for a congressional runoff election, but that date is opposed by a Hispanic civil rights group because it is a religious day for many.

The runoff is between incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla and Democrat Ciro D. Rodriguez, a former congressman, is in Texas' 23rd District, which includes portions of San Antonio.

Dec. 12 is the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and Latin America. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) wants the election held Dec. 19, arguing that the earlier date discriminates against Hispanic voters.

Texas says a court ordered the runoff election set for the earliest possible date.

States such as Texas that have had a history of voting discrimination against minority groups are required under federal law to get Justice Department approval of election changes or decisions.

So much for that Fiberal theory on the separation of church and state!

*****In A Somewhat Related Development*****

Ward 4, on the South Side of Des Moines, is having a special primary election to replace a member of the City Council who resigned.

The date of that primary is December 12.

Des Moines' South Side is where a majority of the city's Hispanic residents reside.

Two individuals with Hispanic sounding surnames, Chivas Rivas & Ryan Rivas, are on the slate of eight candidates. The Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe has not been an issue!

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Is Hating the Haters Hateful?

After what seems like months, Nancy Pelosi is done letting Alcee Hastings twist in the wind.

Hastings had campaigned for the Chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee, just recently sending out a letter to Representatives seeking their support.

The Congressional Black Caucus had also sent a letter, to Pelosi, in support of Hastings.

Pelosi announced her decision yesterday and had this to say about Hastings....

"Alcee Hastings has always placed national security as his highest priority. "He has served our country well, and I have full confidence that he will continue to do so."

I guess that little impeachment thing in 1988 doesn't count!

Pelosi was one of 413 who voted to remove Hastings as a Federal Judge, because evidence showed he had conspired to solicit bribes/money from defendants in return for favorable treatment in Hastings’s court.

Hastings shot back at critics with this statement....

"Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me yet."

As the book title says, Ironically found at gohastings.com (I doubt that there's a connection), I love God's sense of humor!

I'm sure he enjoys watching people make an ass of themselves and be an example of how NOT to live a purpose driven life.

PS: How about Leonard BOZO-well for chairman, isn't he on that committee?

BOZO-well on a government intelligence committee there's a conundrum wrapped up in an enigma that is an oxymoron.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Much to my Chagrin

Imagine my surprise when I surfed by CommieTommie Harkin's government web site, I like to keep tabs on the enemy, and found we shared Norman Rockwell for Thanksgiving.

Freedom from Want

By Senator Tom Harkin

At this time of year, I always recall that famous Norman Rockwell painting, "Freedom from Want," which portrays a grandmother placing an enormous roast turkey on a dinner table surrounded by a happy extended family. America truly is a nation of amazing blessings and abundance. And the holiday season is always a wonderful time at which to reflect on and give thanks for our prosperity and freedom.

Iowans certainly have much for which to be thankful....

He want on to talk about "Food Insecurity" and "Food Insecure Americans & Iowans".

The new government double speak that sounds so insincere, but that's redundant when talking about Dummycrats.I am stunned and will be taking a lot of grief from my Conservative Friends.I thought for sure we're polar opposites and that would make his vision of America more like this...

My NEW Favorite Web Site

StopHerNow.com has been launched to prevent Hillary Rodham Clinton from becoming President.

A Texas newspaper publisher and Republican activist created the site as "a grass-roots effort to define Hillary Clinton. She's trying to be something that she's not. She's attempting to become a centrist Democrat, and in fact she's an ultraliberal Democrat."

There's a NEWS section, with links to articles.

The TAKE ACTION section, tells you to check back later.

The STORE, says check back later too and promises t-shirts & bumper stickers.

The FUN STUFF Section has a Joke of the Week....

On her recent listening tour, Hillary was pleased and proud that the local sandwich shop in a town she was visiting had named a sandwich after her. She was somewhat less pleased after she found out what was in it. "Mostly baloney," said the proprietor.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Awkward Irony for Edwards

Former Sen. John Edwards is to spend an hour at the Manchester Barnes & Noble tonight promoting his new book. We find his choice of venue very interesting.

In Manchester, the local Wal-Mart store sits right behind the Barnes & Noble. It has more floor space, a parking lot several times the size of Barnes & Noble's, and is easier to access by car or public transportation.

But Edwards would not be caught dead inside a Wal-Mart. Saying that the company pays its employees too little, Edwards has embarked on an anti-Wal-Mart crusade. He instructs his staff members and all Americans not to shop at Wal-Mart.

"Wal-Mart makes plenty of money. They need to pay their people well," Edwards said at a Pittsburgh anti-Wal-Mart rally in August.

So naturally Edwards is holding his book signing at Barnes & Noble instead of Wal-Mart. Which is too bad for his anti-low-wages campaign, because in Manchester Wal-Mart pays hourly employees more than Barnes & Noble does.

The Barnes & Noble where Edwards will hawk his book pays $7 an hour to start. The Wal-Mart that sits just yards away pays $7.50 an hour.

Oh, the humanity!

From 7 to 8 p.m., Edwards will bring business to a retailer that pays wages he thinks are so immorally low that they should be illegal....

Asked back in January what he thought would be an appropriate minimum wage, Edwards told The New York Times, "My view is it should be $7.50 an hour...."

Seven-fifty an hour? Why, that's what Wal-Mart pays! And without a federal mandate, too.

Of course, Barnes & Noble is no less virtuous than Wal-Mart because it pays 50 cents an hour less. And Wal-Mart is no less virtuous than other companies that pay more. Both businesses provide useful, productive employment at competitive market rates. That in itself is virtuous.

John Edwards should take the virtuous path and stop his anti-Wal-Mart demagoguery. Anyone can see that it is nothing more than a populist ploy to make him look like a champion of low-income people. But those very people he is trying to help end up saving hundreds of dollars a year by shopping at Wal-Mart. Its efficiencies provide them with low-cost items they might not be able to afford otherwise.

We'd bet that if America's poor could choose between Wal-Mart and John Edwards, they would choose Wal-Mart. They understand that Wal-Mart has done more to improve their lives than John Edwards ever will....

Here's a description of the book---

In Home, John Edwards has collected nearly sixty moving stories that reflect how these places, in many ways, are the blueprints of our lives...

Those featured include:

Isabel Allende, niece of former Socialist President of Chile Salvador Allende.

John Mellencamp, Socialist with or without the "Cougar'

And Danny Glover, recalls his family's house in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco as the source from which he and his siblings inherited their lifelong consciousness of "equanimity and responsibility, ownership and aspiration."

HA!!

Edwards is scheduled to sign copies of his book Wednesday at the Barnes & Noble in West Des Moines.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Thomas B. Fitzgerald

One of my favorite teachers from 30 years ago, at North High School, had passed away from complications of leukemia.

There were two ways to take "Fitz", as he was called.

You either feared him or you loved him. I was never in the first camp, and over the course of three years became ensconced in the second.

"Fitz" was in the Social Sciences department, the kind of classes I thrived on.

My sophomore year I had a Social Science class across the hall from "Fitz's" classroom. "Fitz" would often wonder in and interrupt my learning.

I thought him rude and asked who he was. The older kids talked about how he liked to rap his ruler on students desks who weren't paying attention. I thought it sounded awfully Catholic school to me, but I was never intimidated.

It was in my junior year that I had a class that "Fitz" taught, so I got to watch him in action for a whole class period.

He was animated, to say the least. This was 1975 and some kids weren't into learning, so he worked the ruler and would tease kids too.

I remember he used the word "WOP" when discussing Italians, I took offense to that.

I raised my hand and he called on me.

I asked if he knew why God invented whiskey?

He was stumped.

To keep the Irish from ruling the world, I exclaimed as the sounds of laughter enveloped me.

"Fitz" look stunned and I told him that I didn't appreciate the cracks against Italians.

He couldn't figure it out from my last name, so I told him how my Grandfather had come here from Italy.

I think we had achieved a mutual respect for each other.

I remember days later doing research in the school library on the name Fitzgerald. I found that some Fitzgerald's had migrated to Italy and had changed their name to Garibaldi.

That was too good to keep to myself and I had to share it with "Fitz" and it was then that I began to lovingly call him "FitzDago".

"Fitz" was fun, but he took teaching seriously.

I remember him telling a kid that complained about boredom, "I'm not paid to entertain you. I'm paid to teach you."

Another favorite memory comes from a discussion about amnesty, for Viet Nam draft dodgers, he had with another teacher.

They agreed that amnesty should be announced and as the draft dodgers came across the Canadian border they should be shot.

"Fitz" added the kicker, "Shoot them so they'll fall back into Canada and they'll have to bury them!"

While "Fitz" was still teaching he appeared in a T.V. commercial trying to get people to support Congressman Greg Ganske's Senate candidacy against CommieTommie Harkin.

I'm sure he took flack from some flunky teachers and the teachers union for that.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Other People's Money

The Ragister's John Carlsonwrote a follow up story about a V.F.W. hall, in Des Moines, that suffered a fire and is looking for help to rebuild.

Monday's mail brought a note and a check for $5,000 from John Kerry.

On the surface it seems nice, but digging deeper we find...

It wasn't a personal check. It was drawn from the account of "Keeping America's Promise," Kerry's political action committee, which is the repository of donations from around the country sent to support Kerry and used by him to fund campaigns and for political outreach.

The man has been married to two wealthy women and he can't even cut a check of his own!?

It'll help them with the estimated $50,000 they need for repairs.

How sincere is it when he's really re-gifting, just with cash.

One of the veterans said..."Wouldn't it be nice if other politicians did the same thing he did?"

I'm sure it'll happen, this is the first caucus state and there are those, like Kerry, getting ready for 2008. Maybe John Edwards can get them some stuff at Wal-Mart.

It's just like a politician, they make a living spending other people's money!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

He's quick on his feet

It was after I had seen Mitt Romney speak at The Principal and I was feeling a little disappointed.

I was impressed with how he handled questions from the audience, even correcting some woman who'd said the Pentagon takes over 50% of the budget.

He'd also smacked down John Kerry, in August, over Osama bin Laden still being at large...

"I think it shows a complete lack of understanding of the kind of enemy that we're facing. This is not a small group of wackos in the hills that all we have to do is go find one person and it suddenly goes away."

Here's the latest I found from the Massachusetts Governor...

A reporter from the Boston Globe asked Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney a rambling question about removing some tolls from the Mass. Turnpike. Eventually, Romney interrupted by joking, "Do you have a point of view on this?" The reporter responded, "I represent the people, governor." To which Romney said, "No, I represent the people, you represent the media."

According to a top aide, Romney plans to file papers establishing a presidential committee by mid-December and will be ready to start raising money for it on New Year's Day.

Never can say goodbye

Barbara Streisand ended her latest farewell tour on Monday at a celebrity-studded Los Angeles love-in that included incoming Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi among the thousands of rapt fans.

Other notables, in the audience of about 20,000, included singer Barry Manilow, producer Quincy Jones, actors Ben Stiller and Rob Lowe and comedians Cheech Marin and Bill Maher. Each paid up to $750 per ticket

(Pretty much a Socialist Who's Who)

Taking note of the recent Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress, Streisand said, "My depression is over." She ended her performance with a version of the Depression-era Democratic Party anthem "Happy Days Are Here Again."

The tour endured a few hiccups along the way, thanks to a skit in which she mocks her nemesis, President George W. Bush, by bringing out a Bush impersonator.

After a New York fan complained that she was being too political, she told him to "shut the f--- up" and leave. --CLASS or should I say ASS--She later apologized. In Florida, a man tossed a drink at her. Some critics said she should have stuck with the music.

Streisand said she is considering returning to the road, with dates possible for Russia, western Europe and maybe even China.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Hey, Ho!

SCARLETT JOHANSSON, pictured bottoms up, has slammed PRESIDENT Bush for his staunch conservative views on sex, criticising the Republican for being too unrealistic in his opinions on the topic.

Johansson says, "We are supposed to be liberated in America but if our President had his way, we wouldn't be educated about sex at all. "Every woman would have six children and we wouldn't be able to have abortions."

The movie star last month boasted about being so "socially aware" she gets tested for HIV twice a year....

"I get tested for HIV twice a year. It's part of being a decent human, to be tested for STDs. It's disgusting when people don't. It's so irresponsible. But contrary to popular belief, I'm not promiscuous."My wife would call her a "slut puppy" or a "whore dog".

I'll let Jackie Mason, comedian, speak for me....

"Entertainers and stars are all the same thing; they're all on one side of the issue...the Democrats are right, and no matter how they persecute people or how fraudulent they are, they're always right. There's a sick need in actors to prove to themselves that they're great compassionate people, that they're great humanitarians because they feel guilty. They're getting paid for nothing, they get paid billions of dollars for nothing, they know they don't deserve it, so, because most of them got no talent, they got no brains, they got nothing. They're basically morons!"

Monday, November 20, 2006

Charles in charge

If the Republicans had stayed in power in the House of Representatives, the pimp daddy pictured would have retired.

Instead, Charles Rangel (D-NY) is again going to offer legislation to reinstate the draft.

After the Dummycrats tried to scare the public in 2004 that President Bush had a secret plan to bring the draft back, Rangel is the only one trying to resurrect it.

It was defeated in 2004 and went nowhere this year, but Rangel intends to bring it up in the Dummycrat controlled Congress in 2007.

The MacDaddy believes...

"in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way."

Hardy, Har, Har

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry insisted on Sunday his "botched joke" about President Bush's Iraq policy would not undermine a possible White House campaign in 2008.

"Not in the least," Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2004 said...

Shortly before the Nov. 7 elections...Kerry retreated from public view following his remark to a college audience that young people might get "stuck in Iraq" if they do not study hard and do their homework. Kerry said he would decide early next year whether to run for president.

The truly funny thing is John Kerry, and his supporters, are the failed punchline of the joke...they just don't get it.So go for it, we can always use a good laugh at your expense!

Anti-war couple conceive new way to generate peace

Living on their houseboat off the Marin County coast, anti-war activists Donna Sheehan and her partner, Paul Reffel, concocted a way for the world to communally create a lot of peaceful vibes.

They want everyone to have an orgasm on the same day.

On Dec. 22, they're asking the world to contribute to the Global Orgasm for Peace. Sheehan said not to worry if you don't have a partner.

Busy multitaskers shouldn't despair about trying to cram this global activism into their busy schedules, either, she said. Take any time during the 24-hour period at the beginning of the winter solstice to join the demonstration. Just make sure to think of peace before or after participating.

Once you've committed, there's even a secret sign to show others that you plan to take part: Flash the universal "OK" sign and wink. Or, as it has been redubbed, "The O" sign.

Reffel and Sheehan are not just tossing off this idea. They're pros at launching global peace demonstrations. In the run-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq four years ago, Sheehan and a few dozen of her new best friends stripped naked and spelled out "Peace" on a Marin County field. As photos of their naked activism spread, similar so-called Baring Witness demonstrations were replicated dozens of times from Australia to the conservative nether regions of Utah.

Their activism was rearoused recently when they heard about two U.S. warships camped out around the Middle East, activity they fear portends war with Iran.

Having experienced the futility of petitioning international leaders through mass nudity before the Iraq war, the pair decided to ramp up their tactics.

While the Global O may sound much like other collective actions attempted over the years, the O's organizers promise something more on their Web site: "The combination of high-energy orgasmic energy combined with mindful intention may have a much greater effect than previous mass meditations and prayers."

Just pick a time.

"We wanted to make it during the cocktail hour," Sheehan said. "But since everybody is on a different time, then it would be harder for everybody to participate."

In a manner that could only be birthed in the fertile energy fields of the Bay Area, the Global O for Peace ties together activism, sexual identity, gender roles, the fledgling effort to measure global consciousness and the movement of battleships. The GOP -- initials likely creating the only link to the Republican Party deep in liberal Marin County -- is about more than the latest anti-war tactic.

Personally, Sheehan's experiences with the Baring Witness demonstrations opened up new avenues of self-exploration for the 76-year-old artist. Since then, she has learned more about how women can initiate courtship, sex and peace, culminating this year in a book she and Reffel wrote, "Redefining Seduction."

Not surprisingly, the Global O isn't the first effort to synchronize pleasure in the name of peace. Or even just in the name of synchronized pleasure. For several years, a weekly climax has been coordinated online (Webcams optional), and sexuality experts say there have been several other attempts to link pleasure and peace.

"Yes, the vast majority of global orgasm coordinations have been firmly rooted in San Francisco," said Carol Queen, the staff sexologist at San Francisco's Good Vibrations store and a nationally recognized expert on sexuality. "It is natural to link pleasure and peace. If you're experiencing pleasure, you're not engaging in aggressive, destructive behavior. "

Not all such efforts have been successful. Queen's partner, Robert Lawrence, who is president of the Center for Sex and Culture, remembers participating in synchronized pleasure-for-peace demonstrations in the early 1990s.

The results?

"Shortly thereafter, I left my partner at the time," Lawrence said. "It wasn't exactly the peace I was looking for."

Queen said the orgasm-challenged shouldn't be discouraged from participating Dec. 22. In fact, knowing their efforts are going toward creating world peace "might actually relieve some of the anxiety they feel around their sexuality that leads to problems in that area."

While Queen plans to set aside "20 minutes to two hours" for her Dec. 22 demonstration, her partner, Lawrence, is not.

While this is one anti-war demonstration sure to leave its participants smiling, measuring its global impact might be more problematic.

What's troubling some activists is that the carrier Eisenhower has pulled into the Arabian Sea to replace the Enterprise, which was scheduled to return to Virginia on Saturday, according to a Navy spokesman. The Boxer Expeditionary Strike Force, warships loaded with Marines and their battle equipment, is in the Persian Gulf now.

Getting them to turn around will be challenging.

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Dave Smith said he has never heard of coordinated global energy affecting the battleship movements before.

"But I've only been here since June," Smith said. "I've been told that there are no absolutes about anything."

Would that preclude his plans to participate in the Dec. 22 demonstration?

"I'm not going to answer that one," Smith said.

No matter how many people participate, don't look for any increased seismic activity to show up on the Richter scale.

"The filters we have screen out any man-made activity, like a truck rolling past, or uh, the activity you described," said U.S. Geological Survey spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna.

So when somebody says, "Baby, you just made the earth move," that's just hyperbole, huh?

"I guess reality is whatever you perceive it to be," said Hanna, speaking seismically. She was equally vague on her Dec. 22 plans.

Perhaps the only way to measure its effect will be through the New Jersey-based Global Consciousness Project. Run by volunteers who monitor a network of dozens of random number generators around the world, the project looks for any correlation between the numbers produced and significant, shared events like elections, terrorist attacks or New Year's Eves that could signal the existence of some sort of global consciousness.

Project director Roger Nelson said he will look for any data blips around Dec. 22 if the Global O Project becomes a significant worldwide event. Regardless, Nelson has no qualms about potentially corrupting his data by taking part in a little global activism.

"If luck befalls me," Nelson said. "Who knows?"

Even skeptics like Jim Underdown, who investigates paranormal matters in California for the Center for Inquiry-West, plans to join in the fun -- even if he believes there is no way to transmit energy from one's brain to achieve a physical result.

"You don't need a good reason to have an orgasm," he said. "Even a stupid one is OK."

A few things come to mind.

First, is she related to Cindy Sheehan?

Second, VIAGRA.

Lastly, I'm torn between being grossed out by 70 year olds naked and hoping I'll be so fortunate for the next 30 plus years.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Compassionate Conservative

It's not an oxymoron!

Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks, the child of academics, raised in a liberal household and educated in the liberal arts, has written a book that concludes religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income.

His book, he says, is carefully documented to withstand the scrutiny of other academics, which he said he encourages.

When it comes to helping the needy, Brooks writes: "For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous members of American society. Although they usually give less to charity, they have nevertheless lambasted conservatives for their callousness in the face of social injustice."

...secular liberals who believe fervently in government entitlement programs give far less to charity. They want everyone's tax dollars to support charitable causes and are reluctant to write checks to those causes, even when governments don't provide them with enough money.

Such an attitude, he writes, not only shortchanges the nonprofits but also diminishes the positive fallout of giving, including personal health, wealth and happiness for the donor and overall economic growth.

Still, he says it forcefully, pointing out that liberals give less than conservatives in every way imaginable, including volunteer hours and donated blood.

All of this, he said, he backs up with statistical analysis.

Harvey Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard University and 2004 recipient of the National Humanities Medal, does not know Brooks personally but has read the book.

"His main finding is quite startling, that the people who talk the most about caring actually fork over the least," he said. "But beyond this finding I thought his analysis was extremely good, especially for an economist. He thinks very well about the reason for this and reflects about politics and morals in a way most economists do their best to avoid."

I'm sure there are exceptions on both ends of the spectrum.

My experience with Fiberalism that begin in the '60s is it's self centered, it is all about them.

They also have a need to feel superior to everyone else, because of their inferiorities and insecurities.

The causes they support are merely to make them feel better about themselves so they can boast about what wonderful human beings they are.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Hope or Despair?

Hillary Rodham Clinton positioned herself as a leading war-policy critic heading into the 2008 White House race yesterday by raking the top U.S. commander in Iraq over the coals - insisting, "Hope is not a strategy."

Were those some kind of Freudian slams against her hubby (the man from hope), her possible '08 opponent (Barack Obama) or Michael J. Fox (who gives false hope with his fantasy embryonic stem cell cures)?

I do love how General John Abizaid countered Hillary's pontification....

"When I come to Washington, I feel despair. When I'm in Iraq with my commanders, when I talk to our soldiers, when I talk to the Iraqi leadership, they are not despairing."

I think more of the country will be feeling that despair from Washington after the Dummycrat Congress takes over in January.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

UNacceptable

Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and James Walsh(R-NY) are developing a letter to other members of Congress proposing that Iowan Jim Leach be named U.N. ambassador.

Leach, a Republican and 30-year veteran of the House, was defeated last Tuesday.

I believe he's a nice man, but a nice of a man isn't what's needed to help clean up the U.N.

So, just say no to the RINO and keep a real man on the job.

John Bolton has the job, via a recess appointment, until the next Congress convenes.

He deserves to be confirmed by Congress.

I like what the Wall Street Journal had to say in an editorial....

Mr. Bolton has performed in exemplary fashion as a recess appointee these last two years, winning plaudits from everyone except those who admire Kofi Annan and Hugo Chavez. He has followed State Department orders and argued forcefully for U.S. policy.

The opposition to Mr. Bolton is based on nothing save vindictiveness. Democrats Chris Dodd and Joe Biden are trying to show that any political appointee who refuses to bend to their wishes can't be confirmed. They know other Democrats would vote to confirm Mr. Bolton if he made it to the Senate floor.

Having had one recess appointment, Mr. Bolton can't get another one and be paid. But he could retain his position and be paid if Mr. Bush names him to a non-confirmable post at State and then assigns him to the U.N. ambassador's duties.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Cut & Run Crowd Controls Congress

Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) is expected to be Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee in the next Congress.

Levin sounded the retreat signal on ABC's 'This Week'. "First order of business is to change the direction of Iraq policy.

....and that, as a matter of fact, we need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months."

Mark Steyn paints a true picture of why last Tuesday was bad for America and the War on Terror.

"The jihad crowd....view of America is roughly that of the British historian Niall Ferguson -- that the Great Satan is the first superpower with ADHD. They reasoned that if you could subject Americans to the drip-drip-drip of remorseless water torture in the deserts of Mesopotamia -- a couple of deaths here, a market bombing there, cars burning, smoke over the city on the evening news, day after day after day, and ratcheted up a notch or two for the weeks before the election -- you could grind down enough of the electorate and persuade them to vote like Spaniards, without even realizing it. And it worked.

...we are all Spaniards now. The incoming speaker says Iraq is not a war to be won but a problem to be solved. The incoming defense secretary belongs to a commission charged with doing just that. A nostalgic boomer columnist in the Boston Globe argues that honor requires the United States to "accept defeat," as it did in Vietnam. Didn't work out so swell for the natives, but to hell with them.

What does it mean when the world's hyperpower, responsible for 40 percent of the planet's military spending, decides that it cannot withstand a guerrilla war with historically low casualties against a ragbag of local insurgents and imported terrorists? You can call it "redeployment" or "exit strategy" or "peace with honor" but, by the time it's announced on al-Jazeera, you can pretty much bet that whatever official euphemism was agreed on back in Washington will have been lost in translation. Likewise, when it's announced on "Good Morning Pyongyang" and the Khartoum Network and, come to that, the BBC.

For the rest of the world, the Iraq war isn't about Iraq; it's about America, and American will...."

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Honoring those who have served

The 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month was the official end of World War I, the war to end all wars.

First known as Armistice Day, we now thank those who have served as Veterans Day.

Two organizations that I support.

The Wounded Warrior Project assists those men and women of our armed forces who have been severely injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations around the world.

The Special Operations Warrior Foundationprovides college scholarship grants, along with financial aid and educational counseling, to the children of Special Operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Lefty Lunacy now In Vogue

George McGovern, the former senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said that he will meet with more than 60 members of Congress next week to recommend a strategy to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by June.

McGovern will present his recommendations before the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a 62-member group led by Representatives Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)and Barbara Lee(D-CA).

"The best way to reduce this insurgency is to get the American forces out of there," McGovern said. "That's what's driving this insurgency."

McGovern said Thursday that the Iraq and Vietnam wars were equally "foolish enterprises" and that the current threat of terrorism developed because — not before — the United States went into Iraq.

Speaking of "foolish enterprises", how about taking advice from an 84 year old doddering fool who voted to support the war in Viet Nam (Gulf of Tonkin Resolution) before he voted against it (McGovern-Hatfield amendment)?!?

A fool who picked a running mate who had received electroshock therapy (Tom Eagleton, first Time cover). When that information was revealed, stated publicly that he was still "...behind Eagleton 1000 percent" before dumping him days later for Sargent Shriver (2nd Time cover).

The fool, who by his own admission, "I opened the doors of the Democratic Party and 20 million people walked out".

This fool helped lead the Dummycrat party down the path of modern day fiberalism with their hard left turn.

These lemmings are on their journey over the cliff and are trying to take the country with them.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

That didn't take long

I have no doubt that's where he came up with his "thumping" remark regarding Tuesday's midterms....see yesterday's post 'Tub Thumped'.

It is possible, we have met before.

I'm sad to see Donald Rumsfeld go.

What other Secretary of Defense is a Kung Fu Master, can hang with Super Heroes (such as Spiderman and Captain America) and has his own action figure? (You know he'd kick your butt if you called it a doll).

I love the President, but he comes across as wishy-washy after it was reported prior to the midterms that he wanted Rummy to stay until the end of his administration.

If Rummy had made it into December, he was set to surpass Robert McNamara as the longest serving Secretary of Defense in our nation's history.

McNamara served under Dummycrat Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He also was in charge of a little CLUSTER FUCK known as Viet Nam.

Iraq is NOT Viet Nam.

A majority of the country is so far removed from that conflict. Unfortunately we'll keep getting those reminders until the '60s commie hippie fiberals are too feeble to remember the protests that were the greatest event of their lives.

Of course with the amount of drugs they did it keeps causing flashbacks!

What's worse is that Nancy Pa-LOSER called for Rummy's replacement earlier yesterday. It looked like he's already caving to the Dummycrats. I'm sure it'll appear as a weakness to terrorists too.

Pa-LOSER, on the heels of her "....The War on Terror is the war in Afghanistan", comment has further proved my point yesterday, "We can survive what the Dummycrats will do to us.I fear we won't survive what they'll allow others to do to us."

Pa-LOSER told FOX News yesterday, "The point is this isn't a war to win. It's a situation to be solved."

Lord help us!

It's more of that Bill Clinton, John Kerry law enforcement mentality regarding terrorism.

What part of they want us all dead, don't Dummycrats get?

In a worst case scenario, after they've killed all the real Americans, you know the terrorists would toy with the fiberals like a cat with a mouse...just before it gets bored torturing it and kills it.

I remember being outside with one of our cats, when I was growing up, as it played with a mouse for a while.

Squeaky the cat got bored and slapped it's paw down on the mouse causing it to jump in the air. Squeaky swallowed it whole.

Tuesday, the only poll that counts

Some time . . . when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys - tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, but I'll know about it, and I'll be happy.